52 pages • 1 hour read
Stone Cold Fox
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Themes
The Value of Wealth and Social Status
The novel, though involving many wealthy characters and following Bea’s obsession with accumulating wealth, balances the benefits of wealth and social status against more concrete attributes, such as learnable skills, broad socialization, and raw intelligence. Wealth provides many benefits for the characters in the novel, but it also comes with significant flaws that complicate the lives of the individuals in the narrative.
Early in the novel, the issue of wealth and social status is presented as an impediment to Bea’s entry into the Case family, with Collin telling her, “Look, dating outside of our circle is always scandalous with families like ours, but that’s so old-fashioned” (97). The taboo against dating outside of “old money” families is both a protection and a detriment, as characters like Gale and Haven can see how people outside their circle might infiltrate it for money alone, while those like Collin crave broader socialization. The antiquated nature of the “old money” families is implicitly hierarchical, much like royal families or aristocracy, in which its members lack social skills outside the etiquette of their own sphere. This paradigm is epitomized in characters like Calliope and Dave, who deviate significantly from the norm, but they do so by remaining childlike and impetuous.
Beyond lavish appearances, the dark reality of living with wealth is shown throughout the narrative. For example, Collin’s character is used to exemplify that while incredibly wealthy, this wealth does not make him immune to mental health conditions. Additionally, Gale’s family money cannot protect her from Bea’s mother’s ruthless use of violence. Thus, wealth does not offer definitive happiness or a higher quality of living. Stone Cold Fox also presents the moral complications of wealth, with Francis abusing children and the Case family’s seeming legal immunity. The biggest boon of extreme wealth is protection from the law, and Bea notes how Francis’s party involves “[t]he masked men. The women in lingerie. No, girls. Girls in lingerie” (203), emphasizing the abuse of children at these parties. Francis is protected by the anonymity and community he can afford with his wealth. Even Dave, who disparages these parties, admits to attending at least one, implying that such abuses are common among the super-wealthy. Although Bea finds some elements of the wealthier society exploitable, she also experiences severe trauma as a child at Francis’s party, an illicit sexual abuse venue that she is then forced to revisit with Gale.
Bea’s desire to infiltrate this upper-class world is the result of her upbringing—her mother had emphasized the need to manipulate and use people to achieve what one wants and needs. While Bea recognizes the power that comes with wealth and uses what she knows of high society to gain entrance through Collin, the people she meets are able to use their resources and status against Bea. Still, being an extension of the Case family means access to protection and security, and Bea and her mother ultimately clear the way for Bea’s successful integration into high society.
The Struggle of Identity Construction in a Materialistic Society
Flashbacks of Bea’s childhood are described in the Interludes of the novel, tracking how Bea’s mother raised Bea to have a fundamentally transactional view of relationships. At the same time, Collin, in the opposite socioeconomic situation, is raised similarly, forced to acquiesce to his parents’ wishes to remain in the inner circle of their extreme wealth. Between these two characters, identity construction is framed as an inherently challenging task amid consumerism and the need to financially stay afloat.
A formative moment in Bea’s childhood is the audition she performs for her mother. Initially, Richard’s mother suggests the audition, which Bea’s mother rejects verbally, but the opportunity to pull more money out of Bea is irresistible. Before the audition, Bea relishes her mother’s attention, noting, “She doesn’t smile back at me, but when she calls me bunny, I know she likes me, at least a little bit” (32), but Bea knows this display of affection is conditioned on Bea’s performance. After failing, Bea adds, “I know I didn’t do a good job because Mother doesn’t speak to me for the rest of the week” (33), making even the mother/daughter relationship transactional. This pattern is repeated across the interludes, as Bea’s mother instills a sense of urgency to the material needs and wants of their small family. If Bea is not getting anything material for her efforts, she needs to work harder, and this mentality carries Bea well into her relationship with Collin. Ultimately, Bea becomes a chameleon, able to change who she is entirely to fit in with and manipulate others for material rewards. She lacks a foundational identity altogether.
Collin, too, struggles to overcome his dependence on the material wealth and social conditions of his family. When Bea tries to get Haven’s help with Collin’s depression, Haven responds, “The Cases come from healthy stock. It’s nothing, Bea. Completely normal. As for resources? Hmm. He has a wife, doesn’t he?” (245). Haven’s response clearly dismisses Collin’s lived experience because it does not align with the powerful image Haven maintains of the Case family, making Collin’s early experiences with mental health a parallel to Bea’s audition— they both understand that family, and the safety and wealth of family, are dependent on their performance. In the end, both Collin and Bea transcend this struggle, with Collin marrying Bea against his parents’ wishes and Bea refusing to participate in Gale’s murder, allowing a glimmer of hope that their identities can still begin to develop outside of materialism.
The Consequences of Deception and Manipulation
The novel is filled with Bea’s doubts about herself, how much she can trust those around her, and if she can pull off her con of the Case family. These doubts and fears are inherent consequences of Bea’s deceptive lifestyle, in which she manipulates others into giving her what she wants, and her ambitions grow from survival to total dominance. Other characters Bea meets in the “old money” families also display deceptive and manipulative traits, often using status and wealth to evade consequences or achieve certain goals. The end of the novel presents three women who suffer distinct consequences for their manipulation and deception: Gale, Bea’s mother, and Bea.
For Gale, the consequence of her deception is, ultimately, her death. Gale taunts Bea, saying, “After all, you’ve gotten much further than your average whore, haven’t you?” (316), culminating months of manipulation and deception into a critical moment of rubbing salt in Bea’s wounds. Bea jumps on Gale, strangling her, and, though Bea does not kill Gale, the consequence of Gale’s behavior is clear: Manipulating others opens the possibility of direct violence, which is then fulfilled in flame. Bea’s mother, though alive at the end of the novel, loses her daughter even as she saves Bea, as Bea’s mother kills Gale but pushes Bea away. As Bea’s mother walks away, Bea notes how her mother left “fully expecting my loyalty and obedience in return” (332), but Bea is tired of her mother’s manipulation. Instead, Bea wakes up the next day prepared to tell Collin everything about her past, effectively disowning her mother by failing to follow through on their plan. In the end, Bea’s main hope is that her mother does not come back into her life, making the consequence of Bea’s mother’s actions the loss of her child and grandchild.
Bea’s conclusion in the novel is not significantly different from her experience throughout the narrative, as she fears interference from her mother, much as she feared interference from Gale, before. The gift Bea’s mother sends her is a representation of her lasting desire to pull Bea back into her life, and Syl’s desire to pursue their mother makes a confrontation inevitable. Just as Bea felt she needed to target Gale, she resolves, “Syl would need me, no matter what she said about being the big sister. She wouldn’t be able to take care of Mother alone. We would need to do it together” (352), implying a continuation of the deception and manipulation that threatens Bea’s marriage and safety even after the novel concludes. Bea’s consequence is doubt, both of herself and of her safety, as she will always feel a degree of threat that her scheme could be unraveled. Bea, having shed her deceptive desires to pursue a genuine life as Bea Case, still fears retribution from her mother, or the threat of another adversary like Gale interfering in her happy life.
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